


A Quest

by colls



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fairy Tale Elements, Gen, Magic, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2018-01-01 17:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1046611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colls/pseuds/colls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>”Once upon a time, there was a <strike>beautiful ‘Damsel in Distress’</strike>  (Sam), a <strike>handsome hero</strike> (Ruby) on an epic quest, his ...er... her magical sidekick (Bela), and a spell they needed to break to save the <strike>fair maiden</strike> (Dean) from eternal doom.”</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Quest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thinkatory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinkatory/gifts).



> Thank you, tesserae, for taking a look. All remaining mistakes/flaws are my own.

Four weary travelers arrange for a pair of rooms at the Roadhouse Inn. Hot meals and baths are ordered, along with a set of extra towels and a request for laundry service.

A couple hours later, a somewhat cleaner version of Bela and Sam wander downstairs to the tavern. Their roommates are tucked in, cozy and sleeping off the day’s adventures. Sam asks the barkeep for a needle and thread. In explanation, he holds up his favorite red hooded jacket and waggles two fingers through a hole in the sleeve.

One of the guests, a ragged looking man of indeterminate age, recognizes Bela.

"It's that magic lady!"

Bela sighs and tries not to roll her eyes. She takes a quick, shallow bow and smiles at the man. "In the flesh," she says and turns back to her ale. 

"Show us a trick," the man demands, hoisting his mug in the air. Several other voices rise to join him.

"Not tonight, boys."

The small yet lively crowd grows insistent. Finally, Bela throws in the towel and pulls up her sleeves.. 

"I've had a hard journey here. I'm not able to do magic for you. But I can tell you a tale."

"Story time!" the crowd cheers and they begin shifting stools and chairs and tables and arrange for a spot near the fireplace for Bela. Sam, deciding the light there is better for repair work, joins her. Besides, hearing her version of what had happened over the past couple of days might be entertaining. 

"Let me tell you about the week I've had," she begins. “Before I start, I should probably tell you how I first met Ruby.”

 

 

I first met Ruby when I was living in Capital City. I worked for a warlock who paid me to track down charms of goats made of pewter. I never knew what he did with the goat charms. I never asked.

I had a lead on a merchant on the west side of town who had apparently just come into possession of three goat charms, one of which was said to be made of pewter. When I got to the shop, Ruby was pulling her blade out of the merchant’s fallen body. 

I’m not sure why I didn’t run. Have you ever met someone with charisma? That’s what Ruby was like. She was beautiful and deadly and you still wanted to be near her. I politely asked her if there was a goat charm made of pewter around and we began talking.

Come to find out, Ruby was of the same clan as the woman who had saved me from the terrors of my childhood. _My childhood._ Well, I don’t like to think of those days, but finding out Ruby was a kinswoman of hers put me at ease. I immediately offered her my assistance while she was in the city. She accepted, saying she could use a place to stay.

Later that evening, Ruby told me of her quest. I was skeptical at first. Frankly, Ruby didn’t seem important enough to be on such a great quest for her clan. I had many heard tales of her people over the years and her name had never been mentioned.

Ruby’s father, the patriarch of their clan, had been magically imprisoned many years ago. Everyone knows that. For centuries, her clan had sought ways to free him so he could take his place among the leaders of the land. Ruby’s great quest was to gather magic keys that would eventually lead to freeing her father. These keys weren’t just a set of spells or a few trinkets, they were 66 “things that must happen” in sequential order and she had vowed to scour the land until she had them all. 

Think of it like a set of tasks or mini-quests set into one big, epic quest. Once we had to blind fifteen fisherman with sand from a distant shore, another time we were to resurrect a pigeon that had died on a rainy Tuesday. I considered some of these tasks strange, but I had a knack for finding things and people which Ruby needed. It sounded much better than working for the warlock so I decided to join her. That was a couple months ago.

Last week we were working on the task of reversing a witch’s spell to save the soul of an innocent marked for evil. Which was so confusing and convoluted that even I was having trouble finding the elements to match. The closest I’d run across was several children who had been recruited by an evil cannibal and yet I could find no spells involved. 

It was a cold and dreary day in town. It was festival time, so there weren't a lot of rooms available. But Ruby knew a man who ran an inn, the man had made a deal with one of her brethren and she was sure he'd make space for us. 

As we walked towards the inn, I explained the difficulty with the children I had found. Ruby grasped my hands and reminded me to have faith, she knew we were on the right path. Ruby’s confidence that things would work out baffled me at times, even though she was usually right. Somehow we always managed. 

Because of Ruby’s “arrangement” with the man, we had no need to announce ourselves at the main entrance. We made our way directly to the side door off the alley.

That’s when we met Sam Winchester. 

 

 

"You were a con artist," Sam interrupts Bela's narrative, “sneaking in the side door.”

"We were on a quest!"

Sam snorts. "A quest to lighten people's pockets maybe."

"You were stealing when we met you, you don't have room to talk."

"I was hungry! Besides, he was just throwing out that food anyway." 

"Who's telling this story?"

Sam ignores her and ties off the last stitch. He smoothes out his jacket, and, satisfied that the hole is repaired, he stands and puts it on. But instead of leaving, he orders a tankard of ale and returns to his seat.

Satisfied that he’s not going to interrupt again, Bela continues. 

 

 

That's when we met Sam Winchester. 

As we approached the worn-down inn, we found a scrawny and dirty man rummaging through the dumpster. I heard Ruby mutter 'a Winchester' under her breath, but at the time I had no idea what that meant. 

Anyway, there he was, poor, cold, and hungry. Ruby adjusted her bodice and sauntered up towards him, really pulling out all the stops. He seemed nervous with her attention and stammered when she dragged a finger down his chest and coyly asked him something about the festival. He seemed to perk up when he saw me though. 

 

 

"Because you offered me food. I was interested in eating at the time." 

"Would you stop interrupting?"

"Sorry."

 

 

Ruby convinced the innkeeper to let Sam stay in our room. Of course, I made sure it was understood that he would be sleeping on the floor. Last time Ruby had a man up to our rooms, I had to sleep in the hallway. Anyway, we got a good meal into him and he seemed content enough with the floor. 

The next morning, I pulled Ruby aside. 

"I thought we were looking for an innocent soul marked for evil by a witch? What’s going on?"

"Change of plans," Ruby said. "Never pass up a chance to have a Winchester owe you a favor."

"What is a Winchester?" I asked.

Ruby merely shook her head and glanced towards Sam. She wouldn't say more, which made me uneasy.

I gather that Sam and Ruby had a long conversation the night before during the meal, while I was busy earning our keep by putting on a magic show for the innkeeper and his guests. I didn't mind, really. I suppose I should be flattered that so many find my magical skills amusing. But magic isn't really amusing, not really. They think it's just tricks and sleight of hand - but real magic actually kind of hurts.

But I digress. As I said, Sam and Ruby had a long talk and suddenly we were putting our own quest on hold and traipsing off to places unknown so that Ruby could have 'a Winchester' in her debt.

To say I was in a sour mood that morning would be putting it mildly. Whenever we go traipsing off, I usually end up doing all the work. 

“Saving some random innocent can wait," Ruby began in a hushed whisper when Sam was out of earshot. "Bagging a boon from a Winchester is much more lucrative. My father will be thrilled!" 

She bounced with excitement at this idea. I, on the other hand, had a bad feeling.

"What is 'a Winchester'?" I asked again through gritted teeth.

"Winchesters are to blame for my father’s current predicament."

"I thought your father was entrapped by a sorceress named Campbell."

"The Winchesters are allies of the Campbell Clan."

"Do the Winchesters rely on iron and salt to protect them? Or are they allergic to the new alchemy like the Campbells seem to be?"

Ruby rolled her eyes at me. "Way to miss the point, Bela."

I took this to mean she didn't really know much about the Winchesters. She tended to be evasive when she didn't know something. 

"Look." She grabbed my arm to make sure she had my full attention. "I just remember my father talked constantly about the Winchesters when I was growing up. He claimed that one will save him, or become a vessel, or free him, or some such nonsense. If I can garner a favor from one of them, he'll surely place me in higher regard than he does that slut Casey."

"Who's Casey?"

"Not important. The important thing is that we are going to help Sam Winchester with his quest and he'll owe us a favor."

"What is his quest?"

"Sam's true love has fallen under the spell of a powerful sorceress named Lilith and is being held captive. Something about dragon’s blood from a special rose's thorn before midnight is supposed to defeat the curse."

 

 

Sam interjects, "Brother. My brother, not my true love."

Bela glares at him. 

"Sorry, but that's an important distinction."

"Where was I?" Bela asks. 

"Sam's love was entrapped by Lilith," a man near the door offers.

"Brother!" Sam says.

"Whatever," the man waves a dismissive hand at Sam.

Bela continues. 

 

 

Dean Winchester, Sam’s _brother_ , was entrapped by Lilith. She had him under a sleeping spell and Sam had to break it before the next full moon or Dean would wake and be Lilith’s forever. Frankly, it's just the sort of quest that Ruby and I do practically every day, so it was fortunate for Sam that we ran into him. 

Breaking the curse was going to be complicated. Like Ruby's overall quest, it required certain elements to be acquired before other things could be acquired. It's really quite an opportunity for someone quick witted and nimble minded to excel. As I've said, it was lucky that I was there. 

We first needed to get our hands on one of the sacred roses of Kansas. I had a contact in Capital City, a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy. I won’t bore you with the details, nor reveal my sources. Suffice to say that the rose was quickly obtained for a small fee and we were on our way. I doubt there’s another person in the land who could’ve gotten the right rose for the right price as efficiently as I did.

We trekked up the Celestial Mountains where rumor had it one of the last remaining dragons lived. She wasn't a fire breather type or anything, nor did she live in a cave. She was actually a retired baker who lived in a large stone house. 

On our way, we stopped at a smith's hut so Ruby could sharpen her dagger. I'm still not sure why she couldn’t sharpen it herself, but it had something to do with the blade being fatal to her kind. I'm also not sure why she needed the blade when we had the rose, but Ruby was the brawn of our outfit and when she said she needed weapons maintenance I learned not to question her too closely.

After the smith's hut, Ruby cinched her leather bodice tighter, pushing her cleavage out as she handled her blade, testing its weight or some such nonsense. She was quite skilled, despite being a bit of a show off. Sam didn't seem too impressed and kept close to my side as we approached the dragon's house.

Ruby had us crouch behind the hedge and indicated via a complicated set of hand signals that she was going to do some reconnaissance. I had to translate for Sam as he seemed quite perplexed by her rapid gestures. We were to stay put.

Of course, men rarely do as they're told and as soon as Ruby was out of sight he stood and strode up to the front door.

I considered my options. I could do as Ruby had instructed and stay put, tackle Sam before he could reach the door and hope the dragon lady didn't notice, or join Sam in an act of solidarity as we boldly knocked on the front door. 

While I was deliberating I discovered that the dragon wasn't inside anyway, she was outside tending to her gardens. In fact, she was standing right behind me.

"Can I help you, young lady?" she asked in a husky voice.

Thankfully, I have always been able to think on my feet. I smiled and turned to face the dragon. I was steeling myself for a old lizard with a case of halitosis, but what I encountered was a lovely woman of indeterminate age. It was only her voice that sounded like she smoked a pack a day. 

"I'm just admiring your lovely garden," I said. "I dearly love gardens. Especially ones with roses. Do you have many?"

The dragon crossed her arms and stared at me. Meanwhile, Sam had ventured back to my side. Just as Sam was about to speak, Ruby leapt onto the path behind the dragon. 

"Yield or feel my blade," she declared, dropping a bundle of rope near her feet.

I avoided rolling my eyes at her theatrics. Barely.

The dragon turned and hissed at Ruby, claws descending and wings unfurling. The two of them plunged into a fierce battle complete with punching and kicking and cursing. Just when it seemed the dragon was going to get the upper hand, Ruby deftly kicked her legs out from beneath her and, snatching the bundle of rope, leapt on the dragon before she could recover. With a practiced move, Ruby roped up arms and legs and wings in a complicated knot. She stood, hands on hips, and admired her work.

"Yet again, I've vanquished our enemy," she said triumphantly.

I pulled the Kansas rose out of my satchel and bent down to the dragon. "I'm very sorry about this, but we do need a few drops of your blood."

The dragon considered me for a moment and held out one of her bound talons, palm facing up. "You have a loved one bound by Lilith, do you?"

"How did you know?" Sam asked anxiously.

"Always with the dragon's blood drawn by a rose thorn with that one. Roses and hellhounds, it’s like she’s ran out of ideas." 

After I collected several drops of blood, Ruby and I started back down the path while Sam untied the dragon lady.

 

 

“Yeah, thanks for leaving me with that, by the way. I still don’t know why Ruby needed to tie her up in the first place. She seemed like a perfectly nice dragon,” Sam says.

“A perfectly nice dragon? Do you even hear yourself?” 

Bela looks around the room. None of the patrons appear to have left and they’re all waiting for her to continue. She looks at her tankard of ale. Her empty tankard of ale. 

“Wow. All this talking does leave a girl parched.”

Several men stood at once, waving money and calling out to the barkeep for refills. Drinking deeply from the freshly filled tankard, Bela smiles sweetly and continues.

 

 

The journey to Lilith’s compound took the better part of the next two days. Traveling on foot might be noble when on a quest, but it was hell on my feet and by the time we got there my blisters had blisters.

We ducked behind a copse of trees not too far away and surveyed the situation. As expected, the compound was well guarded. 

Ruby eyed Sam. “How many do you think you can handle?”

“Handle?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. Handle. Take out. You know…,” she made a chopping motion with her hand. 

“You want to take out twelve armed guards?”

“Why don’t we go in that way?” I asked, pointing to a side door that appeared unguarded. 

Sam and Ruby both stared at it for a few moments.

Ruby narrowed her eyes. “Why is it unguarded? Is it a trap?”

“It’s always a trap. It’s still better than taking on the guards,” Sam said.

Approaching in a stealthy leapfrog pattern, the three of us eventually made our way to the side door. It was locked. I rummaged around in my satchel and pulled out my lock picking kit. 

“Keep an eye out for guards while I do this,” I said. In a matter of moments I had the lock conquered and the three of us slipped inside unnoticed.

My victory was short lived. We’d slipped inside the kennel where Lilith kept her hellhounds.

“Oh shit,” we said in unison.

Ruby pulled out her blade and Sam grabbed a lit torch from the wall. The hounds were circling and their growls became menacing. I searched my satchel for something useful. I’d like to claim that I’d planned it all along, but the truth is I just happened to have some peanut butter snacks in the bottom of my bag. 

I tossed a handful of peanut butter snack crumbs to the hounds on my left. As I’d hoped, it proved to be the perfect distraction.

“Over there,” I shouted and pointed to a door on the far side of the room. We dashed for the door, but there were still two hounds in our path. 

Sam waved the torch in front of him and Ruby brandished her blade, yelling like a banshee. I suppose she was trying to scare the hounds, but these were hellhounds so it basically had the opposite effect. One of the hounds leapt straight at her, teeth bared and snarling. Sam raised an arm to deflect it from Ruby’s throat, grappling with the hound himself.

 

 

Sam points to the repaired hole in his red hooded jacket and nods. 

“What,” Bela asks, “no additional commentary?”

“I did Ruby a favor, saving her from that hound,” Sam replies innocently, happy to have witnesses.

 

 

I reached the door first and found it locked. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a standard lock, but one bound with magic. Terrific. 

“Can you open it?” Ruby asked.

“Of course I can,” I replied without glancing up. I studied the lock in silence for several moments. 

“Something’s wrong,” Sam said.

“I’ll get it, just give me a moment,” I said.

“No, I mean something’s wrong in this room.” He pointed to several kennel sized cages scattered throughout the room. All with open doors and none with hellhounds inside. 

“Who let the dogs out?” Ruby asked.

“Well, that explains our welcoming committee,” I said.

We stood staring at the cages for a moment. Then, remembering that the other hounds had only been distracted, I returned my attention to the door. Reciting a few archaic words and pushing my energy through my left hand, I touched the lock. With a small hiss and a brief flash of light it popped open. 

We entered a long, dark hallway. Ruby and Sam argued briefly as to whether we should go right or left. Hearing voices from our right, we chose left and hurried down the hall. 

I kept my left hand close to my chest, cradling it slightly. I hated using magic on the go like that as it tended to leave residual energy behind. Opening the lock wasn’t exactly painful, but wasn’t pleasant either. It also drew the attention of other magic and I didn’t want whoever had locked that door to come find me. If I hadn’t been distracted by tempering my magic, I would’ve noticed him much sooner.

Ruby had taken point and was the first to round the corner ahead. She nearly collided with a man muttering to himself about ashtrays. Blade drawn, she forced the man up against the wall and was about to begin interrogating him when Sam rushed forward, pushing her out of the way.

“Dean!” Sam rushed forward, grabbing hold of Dean. Sam patted him down lightly, checking him for physical injuries. “Are you all right?”

Someone barked out an order behind me and the sound of heavy footsteps grew closer. “We need to hide,” I said.

The four of us ducked into a room just as a pair of guards came into view. Not wanting the sound of a closing door alerting them, I held it mostly closed and listened as they passed.

“How did he get out of her chamber anyway?” one of guards said, “I thought she put a spell on him.”

“I guess the spell didn’t work.”

“Don’t let her hear you say something like that.” 

When they were out of earshot, I turned to the others. Sam was still holding onto Dean’s arm like he was going to float away. Considering the gibberish Dean was muttering, I suppose it was reasonable. He’d moved from ashtrays and was talking about bottle rockets and lime juice.

“We’ve gotta get out of here!” he shouted. 

“Shhh…,” Sam tried to calm him down.

I reached into my satchel and removed the dragon’s blood. “He’s not under a sleeping spell, but I think he still needs this,” I handed it to Sam.

Sam opened the vial and placed two drops on Dean’s tongue. 

It took a few moments, but it felt like it took forever. The dragon's blood worked on whatever spell Lilith had cast, possibly helped by Dean half way beating it through his own sheer force of will. 

"She left salt in her ashtray," Dean said. To me it still sounded like gibberish, but it seemed to mean something to Sam. 

"You must've been in a waking dream state. Half here and half ... somewhere else," Sam said.

"Yeah, I guess."

Ruby stood next to Sam. "I hate to break up this reunion, but we should probably think about how we're going to get out of here undetected."

"Get out of here. Oh crap, we have to get out of here," Dean leapt to his feet and rushed towards the door.

"What's the hurry?" I asked.

"I wandered through to the kitchens this morning. I can't be sure, but I think I set the place to go up in flames when the cook starts up the oven. Either that or I unleashed the hellhounds."

"Is it possible you did both?" Sam asked, genuinely concerned.

Dean shrugged. "It's possible."

Without another word, we ran through the hallways and flames followed us out the front gates. Lilith also escaped, and could be heard cursing the Winchesters as she rode off with her remaining bodyguards.

Once we were outside what remained of Lilith's compound, waiting for the dust to settle, Dean pulled Sam aside and spoke harshly under his breath. 

"Do you have any idea who you're working with?" he nodded towards the two of us. I tried not to be offended.

It was a long walk and the two of them argued the entire journey back to town. I’m still not sure if the point of contention is Ruby or her father, but Dean wasn’t pleased that they almost owed her a favor.

 

 

“And then we arrived here,” Bela smiles and rests her hand on Sam’s knee. Almost as if she’s daring him to contradict her in front of all these patrons.

“That’s an interesting version of events,” he asks. Sam finishes his ale, not bothering to remove her hand. 

“Isn’t it though?”

He wonders how Dean will react when he learns that the Winchesters are being credited with burning down Lilith’s compound. Dean had been hoping that the entire fiasco would pit Lilith and her henchmen against Ruby and her clan and give the Winchesters some breathing room for a bit. Looks like Bela had other plans. 

He stands to leave, knowing now that he and Dean will need to get an early start. He let’s Bela pick up the tab. It’s the least she can do.

.the end


End file.
